Tom is a Senior Online Editor of CIO UK. He studied English Literature and History at Sussex University before gaining a Masters in Newspaper Journalism from City University. Tom is particularly interested in the public sector and the ethical implications of emerging technologies.

December 27, 2016

CIO UK

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1. CIO business transformation tips: Commit top management to engage the transformation on both the business and the IT side

"You have to share the vision between the business and IT," says Goncalves. "If you don't it will fail. Get strong sponsorship from top management and appropriation from end users."

Goncalvesbelieves that the change would have progressed more smoothly if the fact that the transformation affected the entire business and not just technology hadbeen communicated more clearly in the beginning.

"It took me almost a year to realise. I should have sat down with the business side earlier and if we had them on board from the start we would have moved a lot faster."

2. CIO business transformation tips: Develop a strong capability to define and execute the strategic agenda

Goncalves’ strategy involved rethinking a number of key areas of the business. The value and size needed slicing, workflow re-evaluated to stop starting and start finishing, and specification reassessed to specify by example.

Governance and enterprise architecture both needed to be included to ensure the strategy was successful, and the bank worked closely with regulators and cloud providers to ensure compliance

Pilots with providers and the legal team's communication with compliance officials helped the plan take shape. "At the end of the year we should have some of our core applications in the public cloud," says Goncalves.

3. CIO business transformation tips: Build a multi-year vision and share with all stakeholders

A successful transformation is a massive undertaking which requires the support and commitment from business, IT, management and operational teams.

"You can't do if it's not taken on by the top level of the organisation", says Goncalves. "Try to find the people who, when you share the vision, they are ready to go with you. That is what will make you a success."

Support is required not only from senior staff members but from all levels of the organisation. Clarity is essential to ensure that everybody in the business shares the vision of what you are trying to do.

4. CIO business transformation tips: Accept your master-plan will not be followed exactly

The instigator of the transformation needs a vision of their own but also must accept that teams will find a different path to get there and that users will find a path that has changed from the original plan.

"You need to learn fast and innovate faster, which shortens time to market," says Goncalves. "Accept that you will fail, and rethink the partnership between the product owner and the feature teams."

Be prepared to be flexible, prioritise plans by value and be able to say no when necessary. Transformation can be a long journey and some changes to the roadmap are inevitable along the way.

5. CIO business transformation tips: Engage with an iterative approach. Accept failure and learn from it

The process of transformation is a constant cycle of learning and adapting. Accept that some setbacks are inevitable, but concentrate on the value created. An agile approach is well-suited to this mentality.

"You are delivering small pieces of value each time you go into production, says Goncalves. "You can fail because you are delivering small pieces of your product and you can try and generate innovation.

"You need to learn fast and innovate faster, which shortens time to market. Accept that you will fail, and rethink the partnership between the product owner and the feature teams."

Teams tend to thrive when given responsibility. They need a clear framework and strong support, but empowering your staff will help find the path to success. Look towards agile and reject the waterfall approach, which takes too long, is too expensive and doesn't work.